Simpsonissimo

“You only get opportunities like that once in a lifetime, and I jumped at it. I dared not look round, that's fatal, but I knew he had not passed me, and I had achieved my lifelong ambition – I was champion of the world.” — Tom Simpson

On 5th September 1965, Tom Simpson won the World Championship Road Race with a glorious mix of courage and cunning – becoming the first male British rider ever to do so. Trading turns at the front of the race with Rudi Altig, 'Simpsonissimo', as he became known by Italian fans, set a pace that shredded the field, dropping the big names from the Continent. In the end it came down to the sprint, with Simpson winning by three bike lengths from Altig on the final straight into San Sebastián.

Sixty years on, we look back at one of Britain’s most celebrated cyclists with the help of Grand Tour stage-winning former pro David Millar, a rider directly inspired by – and often compared to – Simpson himself. 

“He was such an amazing racer,” explains Millar. “He won the Tour of Flanders. He won the World Championships. He wanted to win the Tour de France. But it wasn’t just Tommy Simpson the racer – outside that he was such an interesting character.” 

Images of Simpson off the bike portray the man Millar refers to perfectly. Often seen with a smile and always impeccably dressed, there’s a lightness to his demeanor that belied the gritty and determined bike racer beneath. And it was this contradiction that fascinated a young Millar. 

On the 13th July, 1967, Tom Simpson collapsed and died during the ascent of Mont Ventoux on stage 13 of that year’s Tour de France. A traumatic result of the widespread use of amphetamines in the peloton at that time, his death was first reported as heat exhaustion. 

“We ignored the fact that he had died because of doping,” says Millar. “In an era when there were no controls, when doping was almost normalized, it was his death that brought about mandatory doping controls the following year.” 

By the early 2000s, Millar too had succeeded on the Continent – wearing yellow at the Tour, and creating a name for himself as a stylish English racer who spoke French, much like his hero. In the early days of Simpson’s career, the French press and public nicknamed him ‘Major Tom’ for his charm, sharp suits, and Englishness. When Millar won his yellow jersey in 2000, it was just the same – this Simpson-esque Brit who also had a penchant for foreign languages and dressing well was quickly christened ‘Le Dandy’.

Then, in 2004, Millar received a two-year ban for using performance-enhancing drugs. 

“After my ban I became very vocal regarding anti-doping. And I believed – and still do believe – that Tommy Simpson dying is something we should remember. Yet I turned up on 13th July at every Tour, and no one would mention Tommy Simpson. I found it very difficult because that could have happened to me. It could have happened to any one of us.”

While the acknowledgement of Simpson’s tragic passing may not have materialised in the way he’d have liked, Millar’s final victory at the Tour came at an unexpected time: the anniversary of Simpson’s death. 

“It wasn't a stage I was expecting to win,” says Millar. “I remember lying down on the floor and just thinking, oh, that's it. It's done. I kind of closed the loop. From that kid in the 90s who discovered road cycling and found this hero in Tommy Simpson, to the highs and lows of my career, and then to conclude it on the day that Tommy Simpson died? It was full closure.”

In 2015, Rapha released the limited edition Tom Simpson collection – which took its design cues from Simpson's life and career as one of Britain's most celebrated cyclists. Today, we’re celebrating 60 years since his World Championship win with a reissue of our tribute collection.